Class Description- This is a 9th grade English class with 50 minute periods. There are 26 students in the class. There are 15 males and 11 females. The students are fairly diverse, reflecting African American, Hispanic, Native American, and Caucasian backgrounds. Three students have an IEP and are fully included into their curriculum. Desks are arranged to support cooperative learning activities and to facilitate group instruction/ discussion. Students work best with multiple means of instruction: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and group activities. I strive to utilize Gardner’s multiple intelligences into my lesson planning.
Unit Title
Social Injustice and Discrimination in Literature
Lesson Topic
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and Cultural Research
Type of Lesson
Developmental
Core Learning Goal/Curriculum Standard
2.3.2 NCTE 8
Lesson Objective(s): Objective 1 – Given an introductory passage of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, SWBAT to envision the physical characteristics of the protagonist during an illustration activity, in order to describe his culture and discrimination.
Objective 2 – SWBAT utilize successful researching skills during a collaborative cultural research assignment (submitting a progress sheet), in order to find credible information.
Assessment(s): Assessment for Objective 1 – Arthur Illustration Is this a formative or summative assessment?
Formative Would you characterize this assessment as a traditional or performance assessment?
Performance Why did you select this assessment strategy to measure student learning?
I chose this assessment because it gives students the opportunity to envision the protagonist of the story. Students comprehend the information provided by the author, and build images in their imagination of what he actually looks like. Students’ perspectives will be expressed throughout the assignment, as many students artwork will look different. This is an important skill to teach students; none of the drawings will look exactly the same. This activity is also great for kinesthetic learners because all students are able to take the information and physically draw it for their activity. Most importantly, it assesses their comprehension skills and character development. Students will pay particular attention to his disability and culture.
Assessment of Objective 2 – Progress Sheet (Researching Culture)
Is this a formative or summative assessment?
Summative Would you characterize this assessment as a traditional or performance assessment?
Performance Why did you select this assessment strategy to measure student learning?
Students will be using research techniques to find information about an assigned culture that is different from their own. Students will be paired in groups that will best serve their academic and social abilities. To assess their ability to find appropriate sources, I’ll be collecting a progress sheet which outlines their findings since the beginning of the period. The progress will list any internet searches/articles, as well as any physical resources from the library. The ability to successfully research information on the web is an authentic skill used throughout secondary education and college. Therefore, I want my students to be able to find sources with the most credible and reliable information. This progress sheet will assist me in finding ways to better educate my students’ ability in researching.
Materials Needed for Lesson
Computer
PowerPoint (with instructions)
Computer Lab
Library
Timer
Discrimination Mind Map
Culture Mind Map
Student Groups
CD player
Dictionary
KWL Chart Handout
Research Tips Handout The Scarlet Letter The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian CD
White boards/ marker
Model of Illustration
Lesson Development
Teacher Drill/Motivational Activity- (As students are walking in, they will be handing me their homework from the previous class). At the beginning of the class I will be reading a 2-3 page excerpt of Chapter 1 in: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I read for approximately four minutes. The first chapter will surely motivate students to read the remainder of the book throughout the unit/course. After I’m finished reading, I will inform students that I’ve just read a passage from their new supplemental text for the unit. Transition- “Now that I’ve got us started on our new supplemental text for this unit, I want us to formulate some images of our protagonist, Arthur, in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Please remove a sheet of paper from your binder.” Activity 1 – “Based on the excerpt I read a minute ago, I want all of you to quickly sketch an image of what Arthur looks like (on your own sheet of paper), be sure to keep his culture in mind when making your illustrations. I will play the excerpt on the CD player; the CD is actually read by the author, Sherman Alexie. You have six minutes to listen to the reading as you draw your portraits.” I will show a model of an illustration. Key Questions What physical or cultural features portray Arthur? How do these features influence discrimination against him? Transition-“After walking around the room, I’ve noticed some great drawings of our protagonist, let’s take a closer look as a group, summarizing some of Arthur’s culture.”
Students
Students listen to the selected passage being read in class.
Students will listen to the CD recording of the The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, while making their portraits of Arthur.
Time
4 minutes
6minutes
Teacher (cont’d)
Activity 2 –I will facilitate a discussion based on students’ drawings of Arthur. In the discussion, I will probe students’ to describe any differences in Arthurs’ physical appearance/culture. Students will be asked questions to personalize the material: “If people made fun of you because of your family’s culture and your disability, how would you feel?” More importantly, I will have students write responses to some of these questions on their white boards (always under the desk-today I’ve brought them to the comp. lab). This will help students who don’t get a chance to share. Students will pass the boards to the end of their row at the end of the lesson. Key Questions What is it about Arthur’s appearance/culture that causes friends to discriminate against him? If people made fun of you because of your family’s culture and your disability, how would you feel?
Transition-“It’s great to see that all of you could find an experience in which you walked in Arthur’s shoes. With that being said, let’s try to put ourselves in the shoes of the culture we will be researching (passing out progress sheets).”
Activity 3 – Students will have the remainder of the period to research their culture on the internet or in the library. I will be monitoring and facilitating student research by walking around the library and computer lab. Before students begin, I will quickly review the major points made in their research tips article, given for homework yesterday. Students will be prompted to keep these skills in mind when researching. At the end of the lesson, students will turn in their research progress sheets.
Key Questions
What are some successful researching skills?
What is a credible resource?
What important information is used to describe the __ culture?
Summary/Closure/Revisit Objective- To close the activity, I will have each group share one new fact or aspect of their assigned culture on an exit ticket. I would have students share them orally, but that would take away from their culture presentations, which will occur on the fifth lesson. I will review their cards after class. I will also quickly describe some successful presentation skills.
I will also give students their copies of The Scarlet Letter. Students will be prompted to read the first four chapters for homework, being ready to discuss the story in class tomorrow. I will also tell them a quick summary about the book.
Safety Valve- If this lesson is heading in the wrong direction, I’ve brought my student copies of The Scarlet Letter. To motivate students to read the book, I could read the first few pages of the book for students. This would give them an idea of the novel’s plot, as well as an example of the successfulness in reading aloud. Reading The Scarlet Letter is also their homework assignment; Therefore, they’ll have less work at home. Also, I could allow some students to write their descriptions of Arthur, instead of drawing them. Some students may be disinterested in drawing. The alternative will surely help them to stay on task.
Students (cont’d)
Students will actively contribute to their discussion. There will be several opportunities to use the white boards.
Students will use their research skills-discussed in the homework article, to finish research on their culture.
As a group, students will share their one new fact about their assigned culture.
Time (cont’d)
10 minutes
29 minutes
1 minute
Differentiation- To begin the class, all of the objectives are posted on the board so the students and the teacher know their expectations on the lesson. All of the instructions for activities are also posted on the board (or PowerPoint). On physical handouts for activities, students are given a clear format to follow, as well as the instructions posted on the top of the paper. For this specific lesson, I will be reading aloud to students. This serves as a model for correct pronunciation. This will assist many of the struggling readers. The audio CD will also be used to strengthen students’ pronunciation and listening skills. Students will have to multi-task with this activity because they will be drawing at the same time. I decided to give students a drawing assignment, which is more interesting than writing for many students. The activity helps students to envision the character in their head and put it on paper in their own perspective. Students may have the option to write if they would rather describe their thoughts/images of Arthur. This accommodation may help students who lose interest in drawing. To further differentiate the material, I give students the opportunity to tie their own personal experiences into the discussion of their drawings. Students will be able to put themselves in Arthur’s shoes. This perspective building exercise will be used several times in this unit. Later in the unit, we’ll be reviewing the perspective of the characters, as well as the cause/effect of discrimination. This will assist students in developing their ideas about social injustice and discrimination. The mind maps are great visual reminders for students who may have difficulty retaining the definitions we’ve crafted for discrimination and culture. They are also a great reference for the unit’s activities. Lastly, I’ve given students time to develop their researching skills. I pre-assessed their background knowledge with the homework activity they completed last class. The use of technology is very important for all students and being able to use it authentically in a research setting is great for generalization.
Reflection on assessment –If this lesson is unsuccessful, I’ll adapt the material to best meet the needs of all students in mastering the aforementioned objectives. For the reading activity, I could begin by assessing students’ background knowledge of Native American culture/history. The main reason I didn’t include this background knowledge into this lesson is because we’re going to review the history in the lessons to come. I could also give the students time to independently read some of the material on their own. If students are having difficulty emphasizing with Arthur and defining the discrimination, I could allow them to use a personal experience with discrimination (discussed earlier in the unit) in comparison to Arthur and his experiences. Throughout the unit, we will be reading several chapters of this book (not all of them because of inappropriate language/behavior). Also, students may need more time to complete their research for the culture assignment. With this being said, I could’ve given the entire period for research, pushing the literature materials to the next lesson date. Most importantly, I would strengthen the collaborative activities for objective mastery. As individuals, the material may seem daunting, but as a group, we can handle any level in defining and generalizing social injustice and cultural discrimination.
Social Injustice and Discrimination in Literature
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and Cultural Research
Developmental
2.3.2
NCTE 8
Objective 1 – Given an introductory passage of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, SWBAT to envision the physical characteristics of the protagonist during an illustration activity, in order to describe his culture and discrimination.
Objective 2 – SWBAT utilize successful researching skills during a collaborative cultural research assignment (submitting a progress sheet), in order to find credible information.
Assessment for Objective 1 – Arthur Illustration
Is this a formative or summative assessment?
Formative
Would you characterize this assessment as a traditional or performance assessment?
Performance
Why did you select this assessment strategy to measure student learning?
I chose this assessment because it gives students the opportunity to envision the protagonist of the story. Students comprehend the information provided by the author, and build images in their imagination of what he actually looks like. Students’ perspectives will be expressed throughout the assignment, as many students artwork will look different. This is an important skill to teach students; none of the drawings will look exactly the same. This activity is also great for kinesthetic learners because all students are able to take the information and physically draw it for their activity. Most importantly, it assesses their comprehension skills and character development. Students will pay particular attention to his disability and culture.
Is this a formative or summative assessment?
Summative
Would you characterize this assessment as a traditional or performance assessment?
Performance
Why did you select this assessment strategy to measure student learning?
Students will be using research techniques to find information about an assigned culture that is different from their own. Students will be paired in groups that will best serve their academic and social abilities. To assess their ability to find appropriate sources, I’ll be collecting a progress sheet which outlines their findings since the beginning of the period. The progress will list any internet searches/articles, as well as any physical resources from the library. The ability to successfully research information on the web is an authentic skill used throughout secondary education and college. Therefore, I want my students to be able to find sources with the most credible and reliable information. This progress sheet will assist me in finding ways to better educate my students’ ability in researching.
Computer
PowerPoint (with instructions)
Computer Lab
Library
Timer
Discrimination Mind Map
Culture Mind Map
Student Groups
CD player
Dictionary
KWL Chart Handout
Research Tips Handout
The Scarlet Letter
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian CD
White boards/ marker
Model of Illustration
Drill/Motivational Activity- (As students are walking in, they will be handing me their homework from the previous class). At the beginning of the class I will be reading a 2-3 page excerpt of Chapter 1 in: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I read for approximately four minutes. The first chapter will surely motivate students to read the remainder of the book throughout the unit/course. After I’m finished reading, I will inform students that I’ve just read a passage from their new supplemental text for the unit.
Transition- “Now that I’ve got us started on our new supplemental text for this unit, I want us to formulate some images of our protagonist, Arthur, in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Please remove a sheet of paper from your binder.”
Activity 1 – “Based on the excerpt I read a minute ago, I want all of you to quickly sketch an image of what Arthur looks like (on your own sheet of paper), be sure to keep his culture in mind when making your illustrations. I will play the excerpt on the CD player; the CD is actually read by the author, Sherman Alexie. You have six minutes to listen to the reading as you draw your portraits.” I will show a model of an illustration.
Key Questions
What physical or cultural features portray Arthur?
How do these features influence discrimination against him?
Transition-“After walking around the room, I’ve noticed some great drawings of our protagonist, let’s take a closer look as a group, summarizing some of Arthur’s culture.”
Students listen to the selected passage being read in class.
Students will listen to the CD recording of the The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, while making their portraits of Arthur.
4 minutes
6 minutes
Activity 2 –I will facilitate a discussion based on students’ drawings of Arthur. In the discussion, I will probe students’ to describe any differences in Arthurs’ physical appearance/culture. Students will be asked questions to personalize the material: “If people made fun of you because of your family’s culture and your disability, how would you feel?” More importantly, I will have students write responses to some of these questions on their white boards (always under the desk-today I’ve brought them to the comp. lab). This will help students who don’t get a chance to share. Students will pass the boards to the end of their row at the end of the lesson.
Key Questions
What is it about Arthur’s appearance/culture that causes friends to discriminate against him?
If people made fun of you because of your family’s culture and your disability, how would you feel?
Transition-“It’s great to see that all of you could find an experience in which you walked in Arthur’s shoes. With that being said, let’s try to put ourselves in the shoes of the culture we will be researching (passing out progress sheets).”
Activity 3 – Students will have the remainder of the period to research their culture on the internet or in the library. I will be monitoring and facilitating student research by walking around the library and computer lab. Before students begin, I will quickly review the major points made in their research tips article, given for homework yesterday. Students will be prompted to keep these skills in mind when researching. At the end of the lesson, students will turn in their research progress sheets.
Key Questions
What are some successful researching skills?
What is a credible resource?
What important information is used to describe the __ culture?
Summary/Closure/Revisit
Objective- To close the activity, I will have each group share one new fact or aspect of their assigned culture on an exit ticket. I would have students share them orally, but that would take away from their culture presentations, which will occur on the fifth lesson. I will review their cards after class. I will also quickly describe some successful presentation skills.
I will also give students their copies of The Scarlet Letter. Students will be prompted to read the first four chapters for homework, being ready to discuss the story in class tomorrow. I will also tell them a quick summary about the book.
Safety Valve- If this lesson is heading in the wrong direction, I’ve brought my student copies of The Scarlet Letter. To motivate students to read the book, I could read the first few pages of the book for students. This would give them an idea of the novel’s plot, as well as an example of the successfulness in reading aloud. Reading The Scarlet Letter is also their homework assignment; Therefore, they’ll have less work at home. Also, I could allow some students to write their descriptions of Arthur, instead of drawing them. Some students may be disinterested in drawing. The alternative will surely help them to stay on task.
Students will actively contribute to their discussion. There will be several opportunities to use the white boards.
Students will use their research skills-discussed in the homework article, to finish research on their culture.
As a group, students will share their one new fact about their assigned culture.
10 minutes
29 minutes
1 minute
To begin the class, all of the objectives are posted on the board so the students and the teacher know their expectations on the lesson. All of the instructions for activities are also posted on the board (or PowerPoint). On physical handouts for activities, students are given a clear format to follow, as well as the instructions posted on the top of the paper.
For this specific lesson, I will be reading aloud to students. This serves as a model for correct pronunciation. This will assist many of the struggling readers. The audio CD will also be used to strengthen students’ pronunciation and listening skills. Students will have to multi-task with this activity because they will be drawing at the same time. I decided to give students a drawing assignment, which is more interesting than writing for many students. The activity helps students to envision the character in their head and put it on paper in their own perspective. Students may have the option to write if they would rather describe their thoughts/images of Arthur. This accommodation may help students who lose interest in drawing. To further differentiate the material, I give students the opportunity to tie their own personal experiences into the discussion of their drawings. Students will be able to put themselves in Arthur’s shoes. This perspective building exercise will be used several times in this unit. Later in the unit, we’ll be reviewing the perspective of the characters, as well as the cause/effect of discrimination. This will assist students in developing their ideas about social injustice and discrimination. The mind maps are great visual reminders for students who may have difficulty retaining the definitions we’ve crafted for discrimination and culture. They are also a great reference for the unit’s activities. Lastly, I’ve given students time to develop their researching skills. I pre-assessed their background knowledge with the homework activity they completed last class. The use of technology is very important for all students and being able to use it authentically in a research setting is great for generalization.
Reflection on assessment –If this lesson is unsuccessful, I’ll adapt the material to best meet the needs of all students in mastering the aforementioned objectives. For the reading activity, I could begin by assessing students’ background knowledge of Native American culture/history. The main reason I didn’t include this background knowledge into this lesson is because we’re going to review the history in the lessons to come. I could also give the students time to independently read some of the material on their own. If students are having difficulty emphasizing with Arthur and defining the discrimination, I could allow them to use a personal experience with discrimination (discussed earlier in the unit) in comparison to Arthur and his experiences. Throughout the unit, we will be reading several chapters of this book (not all of them because of inappropriate language/behavior). Also, students may need more time to complete their research for the culture assignment. With this being said, I could’ve given the entire period for research, pushing the literature materials to the next lesson date. Most importantly, I would strengthen the collaborative activities for objective mastery. As individuals, the material may seem daunting, but as a group, we can handle any level in defining and generalizing social injustice and cultural discrimination.